Despite the late start, Yo! Majesty’s Shunda K. managed to mesmerize the crowd during a short Marquis set on Friday. Photo from .
When a show is a full hour behind schedule, I find it insanely inappropriate for the headlining act to waltz through the venue, visibly taking their time doing absolutely nothing while their audience is waiting. Even worse, once a performer actually decides to grace the stage, they shouldn’t subject the crowd to silly routines by two ill-outfitted dancers as we wait for you, the performer, to decide to take the mic.
Ambiguity aside, Shunda K.’s behavior at Friday night’s show at the almost pushed me to leave before she even got started. Thankfully, my normally short-fused patience was plentiful, and I decided to stay for her past-midnight set, which proved more than worth it.
Yo! Majesty were first a threesome when I saw them in Austin a few years ago, and then a twosome in Denver at the in May, and this particular evening revealed that Shunda K. may now be the lone member of the group. But she took this fact in stride, and once Shunda stepped up to the mic sporting a braless tank top and painted-on jeans, it was obvious she was the only member that mattered.
She ran through “Never Be Afraid” and “Booty Klap” with breakneck speed and a fluid ease, never stopping to catch her breath. The audience was cold and visibly put-off at first, and it was clear that the DJ, Orion, felt the restlessness early on. He attempted to quell any bad feelings between tracks with smiles, hellos and shout-outs as Shunda retained an air of lazy-cool, words falling out of her mouth in perfectly rhymed lines.
“Kryptonite Pussy” sent the crowd into a full, sex-laced eruption, and the Marquis’ unsteady flooring began to ripple as Shunda hypnotized her devoted followers from under the dark brim of her flat-billed hat. Her dreads dripped down and around her beaming and scary smile as she flippantly released “Party Hardy” and “Take It Away,” showing some much-needed excitement to her now fully attentive audience. Shunda closed her short set with an impressive a capella version of “Club Action,” proving that the gem in Yo! Majesty’s crown is and always has been her impenetrable flow.
Crappy pre-show behavior aside, the Yo! Majesty show was nothing short of amazing. Shunda’s ability to grab the attention of each audience member and hold it for over 40 minutes was truly admirable, and her skills as an MC have never been more on point. Without the silly antics of the other Yo! Maj members (which generally includes full-frontal nudity), Shunda showed that she is without a doubt the only ruler in this one-woman dynasty.
Bree Davies plays bass in , writes about her obsessions with Iggy Pop and Lil’ Wayne in and repeatedly fakes her own death at . She is also a self-proclaimed addict.
